Patient story

I was not happy with my appearance, the skin over my bridge was so thin that it was white with little blood flow, I wanted to keep a masculine nose and reduce the hump. I also wanted to pin my ears back as they were protruding slightly. I am not a vain person, however as a part time TV Presenter in England my appearance is very important and cosmetic surgery would increase my confidence. I´m aware that many more men are opting for cosmetic surgery and did not feel that there was a stigma not to do it.

Pre Op Research

• I searched the internet for information about the procedures and the costs involved.
• I also looked at complications and possible dangers of the surgery.
• Then I looked at different clinics and surgeons - I was originally going to get it done in UK.
• I went to consultations in London and the level of service did not match the costs.
• I also looked at South America and other countries.
• I decided on the Czech Republic because of them being governed by EU legislation and the level of education surgeons must have to operate as well as being close to home and all for a very reasonable price.

The Consultation

• Unlike some of the clinics I visited in London where I just met with a sales representative, my online consultation involved sending photographs of my areas for concern and then my photos would be passed to the actual surgeon and his feedback would be sent to me via email. This service was followed up with friendly (non pushy) calls from Beauty in Prague.
• After I had made my decision I paid a deposit and was sent a receipt and the rest would be paid on arrival in Prague. Then I was offered help to find flights.
• My surgeon (Zdenek Pros, M.D.) advised I didn´t have the Rhinoplasty and Otoplasty surgeries together because of my required healing time (2 weeks off work), them being in the same area of my body and the possible pain involved. So I just had the rhinoplasty done for now.
• Beauty in Prague makes the arrangements for you, they are proffessional, the apartments that they own are really nice, clean and big/comfortable, almost home from home.
• The clinic that they work with is called Lekarsky Dum - Praha 7 (www.ld.cz/en).

The Arrival

I arrived in Prague I was picked up at the airport and taken to the apartment - I met Monika who was really nice, given contact details and shown on a map where we were in Prague. I was given time to settle in and a tourist guide to the city. I really liked how this wasn´t a big push for the company, I was not planning on doing lots of site seeing - many cosmetic surgery companies abroad really advertise surgery as a holiday. Surgery is a major life changing operation so I was happy this was the focus of Beauty in Prague.

Pre Op Tests

I went to the clinic (LD) the 2 days before my surgery (I believe it is normally 1 day before), I was a little aprehensive about these tests as I don´t like needles and knew there would be a blood test, the GP who conducted the tests made me feel very comfortable - I didn´t even feel the needle go into my arm. I gave 3 small viles of blood to test, I had an ECG to check my heart and also completed a series of questions about my previous medical history. My breathing was checked, height, weight and my major organs were also checked over. Then I was talked through the possible complications of Anesthesia and given some information to read and asked if I had any questions - which I didn´t as I had done some very through research before hand.

Consultation

I had the consultation on the day of the surgery and in my mind I figuered if I didn´t like what I saw with my surgeon then I can say im not happy in continuing of course of surgery, however during my consultation with Dr. Pros he was easy to talk to and made me feel comfortable, we talked through what I wanted, he was good at combining easy to understand information and medical terminology there is nothing worse than not knowing what he is talking about. We looked at some of his before and afters on his laptop and took some photos and that was it. Then I waited in the clinic for a bit, the clinic is really clean - cleaner than hospitals in the uk for sure, I always look at the air vents in places and was happy it was clean (I was shocked at some of these in England) I got changed into the gown and a hairnet. Leaving all my external clothes in a locker and took the key and my mobile phone to my recovery bed area, I thought this was very good at how they minimised risks of contaminating the surgical areas.

The Surgery

I went into surgery and lyed down - it was a bit bizarre with everyone running round you talking in Czech but I was ok - they put a drip in my arm and all I remember was them saying have a nice sleep. I had the bone part of my nose chiselled, the cartiledge removed, nasal bones broken and reset and the tip shaped. Then I woke up in the recovery room - 3 beds all very clean and comfy. Take DVDs it passes the time. I was suprised that it didn´t hurt very much it felt like I had a cold (I didn´t). I couldn´t breath out my nose - I had 2 tampons up my nostils to stop bleeding - I didn´t bleed so much so had small ones - they can be long though (apparently hurt when taken out long ones). I had a plaster cast placed over my nose and taped onto my forehead and cheeks, I had seen other surgeons dressing techniques on the internet that had a big bandage that looked scary but I guess but it depends on the technique - it looked fine. I had a dressing under my nose to catch any bleeding. You can see the new shape with the plastercast on and my profile was better. The Lump on my bridge had gone.

Recovery

So I stayed at LD for 3 days (2 Nights) the nurses are great - come and changed the cold compresses when I needed them to (I read online to keep it on for 20 mins then off for 40), always seeing if you need pain medication.

My eyes were black on day 1 but went yellow on day 2 - the bruising started to be a bit uncomfortable. I was really lucky I had very little swelling - so I didn´t have to keep holding cold compresses on my nose too much.

They took out the tampon things on day 2 and I could breath again. Then I went back to my apartment on day 3 and just rested - I bought lots of stuff from Uk with me (Tins and pasta etc) so didn´t need much food but the Beauty in Prague assistent came and asked if i needed anything everyday - I got her to get me some cotton buds and water and thats about it - but they can get whatever you need. I did keep applying cold compresses from the freezer just once or twice a day to keep swelling down. I also took Bromelain tablets and had lots of fresh pinapple and pinapple juice as this is said to reduce swelling. I also took Arnica tablets to minimise bruising. I watched loads of DVDs and they have cable TV in my apartment so lots of music channels etc. the bed has lots of pillows - the only thing that is a annoying is sleeping sitting up for the first few days - it helps with swelling and so you don´t roll over onto your new nose and break it again. Day 5 I decided to go out and walked around Prague - its such a nice city, the apartment is minutes from everywhere, I just put on a baseball cap and off I went - a few people looked at my plaster but in my head if anyone I told them about my surgery.

I now go out everyday and make sure I don´t overdo it - just walking about for an hour or so. Get a sandwich for lunch or something, do a bit of shopping. Its really not a big deal. Even taken the metro a couple of times and wondered around in the evening around the touristy areas. I went back (1 Week later) to change the plaster. The nose will be smaller as the swelling will have gone down so the original dressing was loose. Then this must be worn for another week, and another 2 weeks during sleep.

OverallI would say check out lots of websites about the procedures, I liked www.makemeheal.com, ask lots of questions to your surgeon and highlight any concerns before the surgery. Remember everyone is different - Thats what people don´t realise when researching surgery - If your body is good at healing, If you smoke etc. the healing will take longer etc. I had a really good expereince with Beauty in Prague, The LD Clinic, and Dr. Zdenek Pros im the kind of person who is very positive in my mind and didn´t need constant reassurance but knew the advice and help from both places was available to me. I have been so happy I plan to return in the new year for my Otoplasty with Dr. Pros.